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Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc and Tata Communications, a provider of the new world of communications, have entered into a partnership agreement as part of a plan to roll out public telepresence rooms worldwide.

In a release, Tata Communications officials said that the agreement is expected to increase the company’s network of public Cisco (News - Alert) TelePresence rooms with 10 new facilities opening in Starwood hotels by the end of 2009.

Cisco TelePresence provides life-like, high definition, conferencing facilities with audio, video and environmental qualities allowing participants to meet their colleagues, customers and business partners across a virtual table.

Officials said that the first telepresence suites are planned for Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, Sheraton on the Park in Sydney, Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, The Westin Los Angeles Airport and W Chicago-City Center.

After that Starwood plans expanding the offering to hotels in key international business markets.

Tata Communications Telepresence (News - Alert) Service will provide Starwood and its guests an "in person" meeting experience with participants in rooms around the world.

"We believe that public telepresence rooms are the key to increasing the accessibility of telepresence beyond major company offices to their wider ecosystem of users -- customers, suppliers, remote workers and business partners,” said John Landau, senior vice president global managed services from Tata Communications (News - Alert), in the release.

Landau said using managed telepresence services is “better than being there” and helps companies hold more productive meetings without incurring travel and time costs. More team members can participate in meetings and collaborate around the world.

He said the company intends to make telepresence available to as many users as possible with the company’s global network of public telepresence rooms and its suite of managed telepresence networks services for businesses.

Landau said he sees the partnership with Starwood as a major step toward making this vision a reality.

"Starwood has made a name for itself as an innovator in the hotel industry, and it is crucial that we continue to evolve our meetings offerings to address the needs of today's consumers," said Christie Hicks, senior vice president of global sales for Starwood.

Hicks said that the partnership with Tata Communications is yet another opportunity for the company to bring innovative, cutting-edge technology to the properties, and add true value for the business and conference facilities' guests.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is a hotel and leisure company with 960 properties in 97 countries and 145,000 employees at it’s owned and managed properties.